Plane crash: US pilot, Chinese passenger dead

An American pilot and a Chinese passenger have been killed in a light airplane crash in eastern China, state media reported.

The official Xinhua news agency said Sunday night that neither of the deceased had been identified yet in the accident in Anhui province in eastern China.

Xinhua reported that the plane crashed within minutes of taking off Sunday afternoon and caught fire. It said the plane belonged to the George Heintz Aircraft Manufacturing Co, a US company operating in neighboring Henan province.

Alaska Airlines Flight 76

A US passenger flight has made an emergency landing at Vancouver International Airport.

Alaska Airlines Flight 76 was en route from Juneau, Alaska to Seattle, Washington, when problems arose with one of the plane's two electrical systems. The Boeing 737-400 touched down in Vancouver shortly before 5 p.m. local time on Sunday.

A spokeswoman for Alaska Airlines said there were 120 passengers and five crew members on board, none of whom were injured. She said the pilots remained in control of the aircraft at all times but that company policy required that the plane land at the closest airport.

The spokeswoman said a replacement aircraft would take the Seattle-bound passengers on the final leg of their journey.